Loner paedo' loses appeal

PUBLISHED: 14:41 03 December 2008 | UPDATED: 11:25 12 August 2010

A LONER who downloaded a mass of child porn and flaunted himself in front of a schoolgirl via his webcam has failed to convince top judges his indefinite jail term was too harsh. Alan George Russell, of Anerley Hill, Bromley, was imprisoned indefinitel

A 'LONER' who downloaded a mass of child porn and flaunted himself in front of a schoolgirl via his webcam has failed to convince top judges his indefinite jail term was too harsh.

Alan George Russell, of Anerley Hill, Bromley, was imprisoned indefinitely for public protection (IPP) at Croydon Crown Court in May after admitting 12 counts of making or possessing indecent pictures of children.

Russell, 36, also admitted engaging in sexual activity "in the presence of a child", which related to his pleasuring himself in front of a 14-year-old girl via his webcam.

The IPP sentence, reserved for dangerous offenders, is almost identical to a life term and means Russell will not be freed until he can persuade the Parole Board it is safe to do so.

Lord Justice Keene, sitting in London's Appeal Court with Mr Justice Beatson and Mr Justice Macduff, said Russell had engaged in explicit sexual conversation with the girl over the internet, initially lying that he was 17 but later admitting he was 35.

When police seized his computer, they found around 2,000 indecent child images, with 18 at the highest level of seriousness - involving acts such as bestiality and sadism.

Russell's QC, Mark Bagshaw, challenged the IPP sentence on grounds that it was excessive given his previous good character. But, dismissing the appeal, Lord Justice Keene said the facts showed that Russell's offending was "escalating" and upheld the Crown Court judge's view that he poses a significant risk of causing serious harm to the public.